Bitfinex Alpha | Bitcoin price remains steady despite SEC lawsuit
The U.S. economy continues to face a mixed economic picture as more key indicators emerge. Wholesale prices, as measured by the producer price index (PPI), experienced a larger-than-expected decline in May, suggesting that inflation may be moderating. The trend suggests that supply chain bottlenecks are easing and demand for commodities is slowing due to higher borrowing costs. That vindicated the Fed's decision last week to keep interest rates steady (even though it signaled the possibility of higher borrowing costs later in the fiscal year.) These policy adjustments came despite other economic indicators pointing to unexpected resilience and slowdown. Inflation has been guaranteed to be lower than initially expected.
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The latest data from the U.S. Labor Department showed that consumer prices rose only marginally in May, while annual inflation also hit its slowest pace in more than two years. However, underlying price pressures remain strong, with falling energy and services costs largely responsible for the moderation in headline inflation Excluding this volatile category, persistent inflation remains well above the Fed's 2% target. As the U.S. grapples with these inflationary dynamics, another major problem has emerged: ballooning budget deficits. The deficit quadrupled in May compared with the previous year, largely due to higher government spending and lower tax revenues. Other contributing factors include increased spending by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in response to recent bank failures and takeovers. The FDIC expects to recover most of the money through the sale of bank assets and higher industry fees. However, the growing budget deficit highlights ongoing fiscal challenges and the need for concerted efforts to address and manage the escalating deficit.
Amid these economic swings, sentiment among U.S. small businesses has been mixed. While small business confidence rebounded in May, concerns about the economic outlook and inflation among business owners remained widespread. However, the NFIB survey also highlighted businesses' continued desire to hire more workers, pointing to positive progress in the labor market recovery.
Crypto markets show resilience as Bitcoin rebounds from $25,000 levels amid regulatory turmoil
Despite the SEC's lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, the crypto market remains remarkably stable. On-chain activity revealed an interesting difference in investor behavior: On the one hand, investors with transaction sizes below $10 million were withdrawing heavily; on the other hand, investors above this value were hoarding coins in unison.
The slow outflow of funds suggests that long-term holders of bitcoin do not appear to be worried despite the constant noise of regulatory scrutiny, and their confidence in the long-term value of the asset remains unchanged, suggesting a shift towards accumulation. Additionally, Bitcoin's rapid rebound from the important $25,000 mark last week did not trigger a short squeeze, suggesting that the price rise was not the result of short liquidation, but rather the result of large futures long positions propping up prices.
The SEC has brought frustration to Coinbase by suspending its decision on its response to an earlier petition asking the regulator to improve rules governing crypto assets.
By contrast, Binance.US breathed a sigh of relief last week after a federal judge denied an SEC request to freeze its assets. The decision to allow cryptocurrency exchanges to remain operational while negotiations continue was positively welcomed by the crypto community.
In further good news, crypto lending firm BlockFi, which suspended withdrawals following the FTX debacle, has indicated that it will resume withdrawals in the coming months.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is also pushing major banks to accept cryptocurrency exchanges as clients, in an attempt to cement Hong Kong’s status as a global cryptocurrency hub. The move comes amid intense global regulatory scrutiny and reflects Hong Kong's continued enthusiasm for the nascent crypto industry.
This whirlwind week, as we face regulatory battles and strategic shifts in the crypto space, offers a preview of the tumultuous dynamics shaping the future of digital asset trading and regulation. The cryptocurrency world looks forward to a new chapter in the evolution of digital finance as exchanges, regulators and stakeholders juggle different interests and navigate the intricate landscape.
https://blog.bitfinex.com/bitfinex-alpha/bitfinex-alpha-bitcoin-stays-calm-despite-cex-lawsuits/
Bitfinex Securities and SkyBridge Digital Finance Sign Memorandum of Understanding
Bitfinex Securities, a platform for the issuance and trading of tokenized securities, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with SkyBridge Digital Finance, the Kazakh asset management arm of the SkyBridge Group.
Tether and Bitfinex are jointly offering a grant of 100,000 USD₮ and underline their continued commitment to supporting projects that advance the development of secure and decentralized technologies. Through contributions to Qubes OS, both companies are committed to fostering innovation and helping individuals protect their digital assets and personal privacy.
Tether and Bitfinex Give Qubes OS 100,000 USDT Grant to Support Its Open Source Development
Tether and Bitfinex jointly announced a public grant to fund the open-source development of Qubes OS, widely considered the epitome of data security and privacy.
Tether and Bitfinex are jointly offering a grant of 100,000 USD₮ and underline their continued commitment to supporting projects that advance the development of secure and decentralized technologies. Through contributions to Qubes OS, both companies are committed to fostering innovation and helping individuals protect their digital assets and personal privacy.
“We recognize the importance of privacy and security in the digital age,” said Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether and Bitfinex. “We are therefore pleased to support the development of Qubes OS, a cutting-edge operating system. This grant represents our commitment to advancing open source initiatives, driving innovation and empowering individuals to take control of their digital lives."
Qubes OS is an open source project that has received high recognition from prominent Bitcoin enthusiasts and liberal activists for its robust security architecture and innovative approach to protecting user privacy. By utilizing Xen-based virtualization, the operating system is able to isolate different tasks and applications in separate virtual machines called "qubes" and provide a level of security beyond traditional operating systems. This approach provides a highly secure environment for performing sensitive tasks such as financial transactions, accessing sensitive information or secure communications.
“We very much welcome the funding from Tether and Bitfinex. Their support of our open source software development is critical to the continued growth of our operating system and ensuring it remains a first-class secure platform for all users,” said the Qubes OS team.
